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Havemercy #4
Steelhands
With Havemercy, Shadow Magic, and Dragon Soul, the acclaimed writing team of Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett has fused magic and technology into something that can only be termed “magicpunk.” Their distinctive style, featuring a chorus of quirky first-person narrators and brilliantly sophisticated world-building, has won these young writers the plaudits of fans and critics.
In the Volstov capital of Thremedon, Owen Adamo, the hard-as-nails ex–Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps, learns that Volstov’s ruler, the Esar, has been secretly pursuing the possibility of resurrecting magically powered sentient robot dragons—even at the risk of igniting another war. That Adamo will not allow. Though he is not without friends—Royston, a powerful magician, and Balfour, a former corpsman—there is only so much Adamo and his allies can do. Adamo has been put out to pasture, given a professorship at the University. Royston, already exiled once, dares not risk the Esar’s wrath a second time. And Balfour, who lost both hands in the climactic battle of the war, is now a diplomat who spends most of his time trying to master his new hands—metal replacements that operate on the same magical principles as the dragons and have earned him an assortment of nicknames of which “Steelhands” is the least offensive.
But sometimes help comes where you least expect it. In this case, from two first-year university students freshly arrived in Thremedon from the country: Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fiancé, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be’s clothes than her bed. When a mysterious illness strikes the first-year students, Laurence takes her suspicions to Adamo—and unwittingly sets in motion events that will change Volstov forever.
In the Volstov capital of Thremedon, Owen Adamo, the hard-as-nails ex–Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps, learns that Volstov’s ruler, the Esar, has been secretly pursuing the possibility of resurrecting magically powered sentient robot dragons—even at the risk of igniting another war. That Adamo will not allow. Though he is not without friends—Royston, a powerful magician, and Balfour, a former corpsman—there is only so much Adamo and his allies can do. Adamo has been put out to pasture, given a professorship at the University. Royston, already exiled once, dares not risk the Esar’s wrath a second time. And Balfour, who lost both hands in the climactic battle of the war, is now a diplomat who spends most of his time trying to master his new hands—metal replacements that operate on the same magical principles as the dragons and have earned him an assortment of nicknames of which “Steelhands” is the least offensive.
But sometimes help comes where you least expect it. In this case, from two first-year university students freshly arrived in Thremedon from the country: Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fiancé, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be’s clothes than her bed. When a mysterious illness strikes the first-year students, Laurence takes her suspicions to Adamo—and unwittingly sets in motion events that will change Volstov forever.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Jaida Jones
9 books511 followersJaida Jones is a graduate of Barnard College, where they wrote their thesis on monsters in Japanese literature and film. A poet and native New Yorker, they had their first collection of poetry, Cinquefoil published by New Babel Books in 2006. They also co-wrote the Shoebox Project - a Harry Potter fan website with more than five thousand subscribed members. They currently live in Brooklyn with their wife and co-author, Danielle Bennett.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 11, 2011
OK. So Jones and Bennett's writing has heaping spoonfuls of charm, which is what has kept me reading all four books even though I have serious problems with basically everything else about them. But they're delightfully witty and often hilarious, their characters are fairly endearing, and they're quite skilled at writing set-pieces; individual scenes work very well.
Unfortunately, the scenes don't knit together into much of a plot. So much padding is spent on unnecessary levels of introspection and explanation that it takes forever to get to anything, and that's because the plot here is so very thin on the ground. I think Jones and Bennett would be better served focusing on characterization and situation/setting than on plot, because it's not their strong suit. Particularly exacerbating in this book was the choice of Toverre as one of the four narrators; I liked him well enough (although I have problems with his character type, as I'll get to shortly), but he had barely any effect on the plot at all, and what effect he did have could easily be covered in Laure's sections. Antoinette, for example, would've been a much better and frankly more interesting narrator than Toverre.
Which speaks to another very serious problem that Jones and Bennett have, which is with characters. Namely, with the inclusion of female characters. This book feels very much as if their editor said, "You know, you've had almost no female narrators or even significant characters in this series, maybe you should fix that," and instead of attempting to depict a more nuanced and interesting female character (like, I don't know, Antoinette) they went with the stock blunt-tomboy stereotype. I have no problem with tomboys or blunt characters, but in a series with as many pervasive gender issues as this one it drives me absolutely insane that this is the best they can bring themselves to do. They also have an over-fondness for the stereotypical foppish gay man, a character they continue to use again and again with slight variation; in fact, many of their characters can be easily placed into a few stock molds. While they do make the characters convincing, I would also appreciate a bit more variation of type amongst them.
Despite my problems I still plan to read more by these authors, because I like their voice, but in all other respects their novels are deeply flawed.
Unfortunately, the scenes don't knit together into much of a plot. So much padding is spent on unnecessary levels of introspection and explanation that it takes forever to get to anything, and that's because the plot here is so very thin on the ground. I think Jones and Bennett would be better served focusing on characterization and situation/setting than on plot, because it's not their strong suit. Particularly exacerbating in this book was the choice of Toverre as one of the four narrators; I liked him well enough (although I have problems with his character type, as I'll get to shortly), but he had barely any effect on the plot at all, and what effect he did have could easily be covered in Laure's sections. Antoinette, for example, would've been a much better and frankly more interesting narrator than Toverre.
Which speaks to another very serious problem that Jones and Bennett have, which is with characters. Namely, with the inclusion of female characters. This book feels very much as if their editor said, "You know, you've had almost no female narrators or even significant characters in this series, maybe you should fix that," and instead of attempting to depict a more nuanced and interesting female character (like, I don't know, Antoinette) they went with the stock blunt-tomboy stereotype. I have no problem with tomboys or blunt characters, but in a series with as many pervasive gender issues as this one it drives me absolutely insane that this is the best they can bring themselves to do. They also have an over-fondness for the stereotypical foppish gay man, a character they continue to use again and again with slight variation; in fact, many of their characters can be easily placed into a few stock molds. While they do make the characters convincing, I would also appreciate a bit more variation of type amongst them.
Despite my problems I still plan to read more by these authors, because I like their voice, but in all other respects their novels are deeply flawed.
August 11, 2011
It took me a while to get into this book. None of the main characters immediately jumped out and grabbed me the way Rook and Hal did in Havemercy and Caius in Shadow Magic. Once I delved a little deeper however I found myself falling in love with all four of the characters. I adored seeing Adamo and Royston's friendship from Adamo's point-of-view, and even more so Adamo's concerns over Royston's relationship with Hal. The shy and yet emerging confidence of Balfour was depicted wonderfully. The brash determination of Laure and Toverre's complete ineptitude when it comes to social relations were just icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned.
December 25, 2012
As a huge fan of the authors and their books and newbie member of the Thremedon fandom, I'm a bit biased when it comes to this and I may tend to ignore some of the flaws of this work. Expect this review to be enthusiastic and just a bit analyzing.
One of the main complaints about the books – not just this one – has been that they lack plot. I won't deny that, but here's a thing: there are more aspects of a book than just the plot. Plot, character development, mood, and pacing are the main aspects and as one can see from the four POV writing style, “Steelhands” as well as its previous novels are character- and mood-driven, so it's only natural that plot and pace fall a bit short. But they work, because these authors know exactly what they are doing. The writing style of every character differs, based on his or her personality and upbringing or current environment and that's what makes these books so interesting.
At least one of the authors had their origins I writing fanfiction (but as all the good fanfic writers, they only make money with their original fiction because they have honor and talent), and they have the power of fan service. I read these books because I fell in love with the characters right away. Two of them are old acquaintances, two of them became new friends. So... why don't we start with them?
Owen Adamo
The Ex-Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps had me since “Havemercy” when he told his boys, his fellow airmen to stop calling Margrave Royston “the Mary Margrave”. Backing up for his gay friend in front of an ill-mannered horde of dragon riders? He was my hero. Adamo is grumpy, a hulk of a man and yet a mother-hen. He refers to the airmen as 'his boys'. He and Royston couldn't be more different which makes their friendship very interesting and well, this book examines the relationship of the two men a bit closer.
At the beginning of the book, he has a position as a professor at the 'Versity, teaching young students about battle techniques in a very unique way. And because I mentioned fan service earlier – there is a lot of talk about Adamo's pants. It's not important but please do consider that most readers of this books like male/male romance stories and talking about a man's pants – be they on fire or not – is a lot of fun.
Balfour Vallet
Another ex-member of the Dragon Corps. It is impossible not to like Balfour – he is kind, actually has some decent manners and in “Havemercy” he stood out because he was the only one who was actually nice to poor Thom (and it's nice to know that they are still sending each other letters). Also, his hands are made of steel. I admit, I'm a sucker for metallic prosthetics in any shape or form, because... they are steampunk and steampunk is sexy?
After the end of the war he became a diplomat, which is a profession that suits his character quite well (if one can ignore that he has to talk to Arlemagne people most of the time and we all know that the relationship between the Arlemagne and the airmen is not the best ever since Rook mistook that diplomat's wife for a prostitute and slapped her rear end in public. Ah, the good old times!)
Laurence & Toverre
The engaged young couple from the country. Like many other young men and few women (misogynist society, deal with it!) they are allowed to study at the 'Versity because the Esar thought it would be a nice gesture and he should do something for the education of his subjects. Well, not really. But this man's true motivation is something that the book will dwell upon, so I'm not going to explain it here.
Laurence, or Laure, is one of those girls who got a boy's name because her father wanted to have a son. She's fierce, she's a redhead, she's busty and very unafraid to speak her mind. Torrence is... not like her at all. A twiggy young man, gay, with unrealistic romantic expectations and obsessed with fashion. His worst enemies are dirt and germs. Their engagement was arranged but they are another pair of unusual friends.
The story:
Well, as I have probably already mentioned, not much happens plot-wise. Adamo gets a letter from Thom in which the reader gets a summary of the outcome of the previous book and he's not quite happy because the knowledge of the events is a bit dangerous, especially when you're living under the reign of the Esar, who gets more and more paranoid and who suspects treason behind every corner. He asks Royston to have an ear open for rumors at the Basquiat.
Balfour has troubles with his prosthetic hands and goes to see the Margrave who is in charge of inspecting them, but the lady is not to be found.
Laure and Toverre make a friend, try to get used to the city life and attend their courses. But strange things happen at the 'Versity. Students are struck by fever, very few of them even die. People disappear. The four protagonists hold several puzzle pieces to solve the mystery of this book but it takes a while until they all come together to put some of the pieces together.
Then of course, there are also slight romantic subplots, lots of fun with Luvander, who is fabulous and got more than just five lines in this book.
It's not so much the story that matters. It's the characters, their relationship to each other, their daily struggle with things that most of the readers could relate to. Adamo and Balfour try to find a new place in life, now that the Dragon Corps is no longer and to make it all worse, Adamo is struggling to accept Royton's new boyfriend because Roy has a shit taste in men and it's always Adamo who has to pick up the pieces when Roy gets left.
Toverre is struggling with, um, dirt and Laure has to fight prejudices.
In the end, I rated the book four stars because though I have been entertained a lot, I got the impression that some of the foreshadowing wasn't as subtle as it was supposed to be, so during the big revelation at the end, I was only half-surprised. So, I liked the book a lot, it made me giddy with glee but it's not quite enough to be considered “awesome”. Hence, only four stars.
But I do hope there will be another one.
One of the main complaints about the books – not just this one – has been that they lack plot. I won't deny that, but here's a thing: there are more aspects of a book than just the plot. Plot, character development, mood, and pacing are the main aspects and as one can see from the four POV writing style, “Steelhands” as well as its previous novels are character- and mood-driven, so it's only natural that plot and pace fall a bit short. But they work, because these authors know exactly what they are doing. The writing style of every character differs, based on his or her personality and upbringing or current environment and that's what makes these books so interesting.
At least one of the authors had their origins I writing fanfiction (but as all the good fanfic writers, they only make money with their original fiction because they have honor and talent), and they have the power of fan service. I read these books because I fell in love with the characters right away. Two of them are old acquaintances, two of them became new friends. So... why don't we start with them?
Owen Adamo
The Ex-Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps had me since “Havemercy” when he told his boys, his fellow airmen to stop calling Margrave Royston “the Mary Margrave”. Backing up for his gay friend in front of an ill-mannered horde of dragon riders? He was my hero. Adamo is grumpy, a hulk of a man and yet a mother-hen. He refers to the airmen as 'his boys'. He and Royston couldn't be more different which makes their friendship very interesting and well, this book examines the relationship of the two men a bit closer.
At the beginning of the book, he has a position as a professor at the 'Versity, teaching young students about battle techniques in a very unique way. And because I mentioned fan service earlier – there is a lot of talk about Adamo's pants. It's not important but please do consider that most readers of this books like male/male romance stories and talking about a man's pants – be they on fire or not – is a lot of fun.
Balfour Vallet
Another ex-member of the Dragon Corps. It is impossible not to like Balfour – he is kind, actually has some decent manners and in “Havemercy” he stood out because he was the only one who was actually nice to poor Thom (and it's nice to know that they are still sending each other letters). Also, his hands are made of steel. I admit, I'm a sucker for metallic prosthetics in any shape or form, because... they are steampunk and steampunk is sexy?
After the end of the war he became a diplomat, which is a profession that suits his character quite well (if one can ignore that he has to talk to Arlemagne people most of the time and we all know that the relationship between the Arlemagne and the airmen is not the best ever since Rook mistook that diplomat's wife for a prostitute and slapped her rear end in public. Ah, the good old times!)
Laurence & Toverre
The engaged young couple from the country. Like many other young men and few women (misogynist society, deal with it!) they are allowed to study at the 'Versity because the Esar thought it would be a nice gesture and he should do something for the education of his subjects. Well, not really. But this man's true motivation is something that the book will dwell upon, so I'm not going to explain it here.
Laurence, or Laure, is one of those girls who got a boy's name because her father wanted to have a son. She's fierce, she's a redhead, she's busty and very unafraid to speak her mind. Torrence is... not like her at all. A twiggy young man, gay, with unrealistic romantic expectations and obsessed with fashion. His worst enemies are dirt and germs. Their engagement was arranged but they are another pair of unusual friends.
The story:
Well, as I have probably already mentioned, not much happens plot-wise. Adamo gets a letter from Thom in which the reader gets a summary of the outcome of the previous book and he's not quite happy because the knowledge of the events is a bit dangerous, especially when you're living under the reign of the Esar, who gets more and more paranoid and who suspects treason behind every corner. He asks Royston to have an ear open for rumors at the Basquiat.
Balfour has troubles with his prosthetic hands and goes to see the Margrave who is in charge of inspecting them, but the lady is not to be found.
Laure and Toverre make a friend, try to get used to the city life and attend their courses. But strange things happen at the 'Versity. Students are struck by fever, very few of them even die. People disappear. The four protagonists hold several puzzle pieces to solve the mystery of this book but it takes a while until they all come together to put some of the pieces together.
Then of course, there are also slight romantic subplots, lots of fun with Luvander, who is fabulous and got more than just five lines in this book.
It's not so much the story that matters. It's the characters, their relationship to each other, their daily struggle with things that most of the readers could relate to. Adamo and Balfour try to find a new place in life, now that the Dragon Corps is no longer and to make it all worse, Adamo is struggling to accept Royton's new boyfriend because Roy has a shit taste in men and it's always Adamo who has to pick up the pieces when Roy gets left.
Toverre is struggling with, um, dirt and Laure has to fight prejudices.
In the end, I rated the book four stars because though I have been entertained a lot, I got the impression that some of the foreshadowing wasn't as subtle as it was supposed to be, so during the big revelation at the end, I was only half-surprised. So, I liked the book a lot, it made me giddy with glee but it's not quite enough to be considered “awesome”. Hence, only four stars.
But I do hope there will be another one.
September 10, 2014
Another dry, overly introspective anachronistic fantasy with too many point-of view characters that sound the same, the same tired character stereotypes, the same rushed, unsatisfying climax and ridiculous ending that has been characteristic of the series. All of this takes place at a glacial, and I do mean GLACIAL, pace thanks to the characters' obsessive needs to explain their every thought and their thoughts on everyone else to the reader AT ALL TIMES. They even go so far as to explain why they are not taking certain actions and the consequences if they might have. This assumes that no readers have any ability to think for themselves, and they need every minor detail explained to them and then repeated when the point of view shifts to another character.
This book seems so long because it repeats so much information. I don't need Laure's boob size explained more than once, unless it's changing, nor do I need to witness every character's reaction to Balfour's hands. I especially do not need Balfour's reactions to every single one of these occurrences when they are identical. I don't need or want every character's identical reaction to Luvander's hideous clock, unless the clock is going to explode later. It just misleads us into thinking it's important. Laure and Toverre's relationship, Toverre's mannerisms, and the freaking dragons are similarly tiresome to read about. They made their own steampunk dragons anticlimactic and boring by making us witness their utterly magical appearance in the story three different times in the exact same way and in succession. Then it becomes ridiculous. Those are wasted words. You'd think this was a college paper that the authors were trying to bloat to meet a word count.
Characters are nearly always of one mind about things. Everyone thinks Luvander's clock is awful and that it's weird that he opened a hat shop. Everyone thinks Laure is smart and pretty. Everyone thinks Balfour's hands are fascinating. Everyone thinks Antoinette is intimidating and scary for all the same reasons. Everyone is mad at the Esar, everyone notices urine in the streets, everyone thinks Toverre is weird and spidery, everyone seems to know that Cornflower is a cow's name (really?), etc. There may be four point-of-view characters, but they all think the same.
These authors cannot write female characters. Had Laure been left out of this mess entirely, and Toverre alone gotten to take most of her actions, I might have liked it better. It's not necessary to have four point-of-view characters all of the time, especially when two are nearly always together, or are only keeping secrets from each other to increase tension. Balfour and Adamo seemed only marginally capable as human beings when compared to Laure's "brilliance," which only amounted to her being a stereotypically irritating feisty redhead with huge boobs that everyone felt the need to comment on anytime she was in the presence of men or by herself. She is as bad as Malahide and Madoka from the previous book, unable to think of herself as anything other than a woman who regrets having to use her feminine wiles but who can easily do so because she's a woman, and we all come preprogrammed with the ability to do that. Her point of view was so irritating after the midway point that I only skimmed her parts.
There are recurring character stereotypes that I was sorry to see again. Toverre is another Hal: a smart, gay country bumpkin who can't wait to leave the country so he can find love. Luvander and Royston are both Caius, the foppish and fashionable sidekick. Laure is a poor man's Madoka, which is saying a lot, and none of it positive: "independent," willful, opinionated, shoehorned into the plot, and described by other characters as strong and smart when the character herself displays none of those skills. At least another Rook didn't pop up - I might have set fire to the book.
I have never skimmed a book so much, but you won't miss anything if you do. If you miss some important detail, another character will repeat the same information later at least once if not thrice more. I won't buy any more from these authors.
This book seems so long because it repeats so much information. I don't need Laure's boob size explained more than once, unless it's changing, nor do I need to witness every character's reaction to Balfour's hands. I especially do not need Balfour's reactions to every single one of these occurrences when they are identical. I don't need or want every character's identical reaction to Luvander's hideous clock, unless the clock is going to explode later. It just misleads us into thinking it's important. Laure and Toverre's relationship, Toverre's mannerisms, and the freaking dragons are similarly tiresome to read about. They made their own steampunk dragons anticlimactic and boring by making us witness their utterly magical appearance in the story three different times in the exact same way and in succession. Then it becomes ridiculous. Those are wasted words. You'd think this was a college paper that the authors were trying to bloat to meet a word count.
Characters are nearly always of one mind about things. Everyone thinks Luvander's clock is awful and that it's weird that he opened a hat shop. Everyone thinks Laure is smart and pretty. Everyone thinks Balfour's hands are fascinating. Everyone thinks Antoinette is intimidating and scary for all the same reasons. Everyone is mad at the Esar, everyone notices urine in the streets, everyone thinks Toverre is weird and spidery, everyone seems to know that Cornflower is a cow's name (really?), etc. There may be four point-of-view characters, but they all think the same.
These authors cannot write female characters. Had Laure been left out of this mess entirely, and Toverre alone gotten to take most of her actions, I might have liked it better. It's not necessary to have four point-of-view characters all of the time, especially when two are nearly always together, or are only keeping secrets from each other to increase tension. Balfour and Adamo seemed only marginally capable as human beings when compared to Laure's "brilliance," which only amounted to her being a stereotypically irritating feisty redhead with huge boobs that everyone felt the need to comment on anytime she was in the presence of men or by herself. She is as bad as Malahide and Madoka from the previous book, unable to think of herself as anything other than a woman who regrets having to use her feminine wiles but who can easily do so because she's a woman, and we all come preprogrammed with the ability to do that. Her point of view was so irritating after the midway point that I only skimmed her parts.
There are recurring character stereotypes that I was sorry to see again. Toverre is another Hal: a smart, gay country bumpkin who can't wait to leave the country so he can find love. Luvander and Royston are both Caius, the foppish and fashionable sidekick. Laure is a poor man's Madoka, which is saying a lot, and none of it positive: "independent," willful, opinionated, shoehorned into the plot, and described by other characters as strong and smart when the character herself displays none of those skills. At least another Rook didn't pop up - I might have set fire to the book.
I have never skimmed a book so much, but you won't miss anything if you do. If you miss some important detail, another character will repeat the same information later at least once if not thrice more. I won't buy any more from these authors.
January 12, 2013
I read a lot of entire series this year because I only just found out about them, so they are all a little entangled in my mind. This is one of them, so if it doesn't appear completely cohesive, I apologize.
****It does contain some spoilers***
I’m just going to come right out and confess I read these almost a year ago, but I really, really liked them at the time. The idea was very clever, I thought. Dragons that were built with a specific member of the flight corps in mind, in one case, the dragon had been built for one man’s brother, but his brother had died and he was genetically close enough that he could ride the same dragon. The dragons and the riders learn each others’ personalities—despite the fact they have been engineered, the dragons are sentient and learn. The series starts with the whole corps having been disciplined for their appalling behavior at an important event which involved women and large amounts of alcohol. It is decided, then, that they need “etiquette training,” and a young professor is sent in to teach them, supposedly, everything they are supposed to know. Naturally he meets with resistance and insolence, a naïve professor and a hardened flight corps—no problems here. There are characters that are lost through the course of the series, some of which I was surprised to feel sad about even though their characters were at times annoying—they all fit a purpose within the corps to make it a cohesive group, and their loss changed that. Steelhands centers on one young corpsman who has lost his hands in the battle in the previous book, and has new ones made from the same metal the dragons are constructed from, and how he learns to adapt as everything is different now. Two of the original Dragon Corps have decided to stay in the desert where the final battle occurred, but they begin to uncover mysterious and disturbing things about the dragons, which they report back to their old commander. Despite the fact that the Dragon Corps could generally be referred to at the beginning of the series as a very motley crew of men, they were a motley crew of men who depended and trusted each other to cover their backs, and they genuinely cared for each other. The idea of the importance of human interaction and relationships continues in Steelhands. Jones and Bennett have created a wonderful world populated by interesting people and creatures. I was lucky enough to have found out about the series when Steelhands was released, so was able to read all of them at once (one after the other, that is). I think sometimes that’s the most marvelous way to read books—to suddenly discover a new series that already has a few books out and just become inundated in their world, which was easy in this case. The characters are so different, yet fully realized, there is just enough description where is doesn’t become tedious, and the world-building is such that it makes perfect sense that these dragons exist. I’m hoping Steelhands isn’t the last one in the series, as I’m curious to learn more, but if it is, I’m very happy to have read the ones that are here.
****It does contain some spoilers***
I’m just going to come right out and confess I read these almost a year ago, but I really, really liked them at the time. The idea was very clever, I thought. Dragons that were built with a specific member of the flight corps in mind, in one case, the dragon had been built for one man’s brother, but his brother had died and he was genetically close enough that he could ride the same dragon. The dragons and the riders learn each others’ personalities—despite the fact they have been engineered, the dragons are sentient and learn. The series starts with the whole corps having been disciplined for their appalling behavior at an important event which involved women and large amounts of alcohol. It is decided, then, that they need “etiquette training,” and a young professor is sent in to teach them, supposedly, everything they are supposed to know. Naturally he meets with resistance and insolence, a naïve professor and a hardened flight corps—no problems here. There are characters that are lost through the course of the series, some of which I was surprised to feel sad about even though their characters were at times annoying—they all fit a purpose within the corps to make it a cohesive group, and their loss changed that. Steelhands centers on one young corpsman who has lost his hands in the battle in the previous book, and has new ones made from the same metal the dragons are constructed from, and how he learns to adapt as everything is different now. Two of the original Dragon Corps have decided to stay in the desert where the final battle occurred, but they begin to uncover mysterious and disturbing things about the dragons, which they report back to their old commander. Despite the fact that the Dragon Corps could generally be referred to at the beginning of the series as a very motley crew of men, they were a motley crew of men who depended and trusted each other to cover their backs, and they genuinely cared for each other. The idea of the importance of human interaction and relationships continues in Steelhands. Jones and Bennett have created a wonderful world populated by interesting people and creatures. I was lucky enough to have found out about the series when Steelhands was released, so was able to read all of them at once (one after the other, that is). I think sometimes that’s the most marvelous way to read books—to suddenly discover a new series that already has a few books out and just become inundated in their world, which was easy in this case. The characters are so different, yet fully realized, there is just enough description where is doesn’t become tedious, and the world-building is such that it makes perfect sense that these dragons exist. I’m hoping Steelhands isn’t the last one in the series, as I’m curious to learn more, but if it is, I’m very happy to have read the ones that are here.
October 24, 2011
There is only one reason I finished this book. I forced myself to read and study the style of writing. It was a style singularly situated in this book and apparently these writers. I was not familiar with it. The story timeline was well written in a continuous flow from one characters perspective to the next. The reader was able to peice each characters story to the next characters and understand the expressed realistic sense of time slowly progressing. I was completely intrigued by this timeline adaptation and was forced to reminisce on the episodes of Dragonball in many situations while reading the detail of each characters perspectives being drawn out to such a lengthy and detailed description.
Many times I used this book to put myself to sleep quickly. Many other times I wanted to throw the book away and curse myself for picking it up. Yet, still others I reminded myself of the specific reason I bought this book and wanted to gouge out my eyes. I actually paid for it. The only time I pay for something is when I admire the writers words. When they bring me to emotions other than anger that I paid for it. I can only imagine the pain of writing this material. It was agonizing to force read. It must have been horrible to force write. I give the writers Kudoz for the ability to stick with it. Thier ability to put all of this together into one binding and get it published is quite impressive.
Steelhands is one of the few books I will keep in my repertoire of books I must pretend I never read, alongside Izzy, Willy-Nilly, and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."
Many times I used this book to put myself to sleep quickly. Many other times I wanted to throw the book away and curse myself for picking it up. Yet, still others I reminded myself of the specific reason I bought this book and wanted to gouge out my eyes. I actually paid for it. The only time I pay for something is when I admire the writers words. When they bring me to emotions other than anger that I paid for it. I can only imagine the pain of writing this material. It was agonizing to force read. It must have been horrible to force write. I give the writers Kudoz for the ability to stick with it. Thier ability to put all of this together into one binding and get it published is quite impressive.
Steelhands is one of the few books I will keep in my repertoire of books I must pretend I never read, alongside Izzy, Willy-Nilly, and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."
July 28, 2017
Gosh I really wish Jones and Bennett would finish remembering how to write again, I only have so much patience. :< Guys just make your characters' voices distinct from one another. I'm tired of four books reading this, there's no way you're not sick writing it. Also ladies, I still want more of them. I feel like this series could benefit from one simple rule: ladies in the absence of any compelling reason this should not be the case. Toverre? Ought to have been a woman, they can be best friends instead of fiancees if their village wouldn't have been down with that. Adamo? Woman, the Dragoncorps coped because you try telling a hundred pound metal dragon they can't have the captain they've chosen. Balfour? Most certainly a woman which lends a nasty edge to the hazing the corps put her through but ehh we already realized the place was a festering copse of misogyny. Like seriously there is absolutely no reason I should have had to sit through thirteen dude POVs out of the sixteen this series have offered so far. Truly no excuse. 3 stars
April 4, 2018
This is a 2.5 star book.
I liked the plot, I guess - basically, Our main characters are Adamo (former Chief Sergeant), Balfour, Laure, and Toverre.
Toverre is Royston version two. His point-of-view chapters are written in a rather elaborate, descriptive manner. He's gay and extremely fashionable. His distinguishing characteristics appear to him being extremely particular about cleanliness (I wondered if it would qualify as OCD). Laure is basically a gorgeous tomboy (though I was really uncomfortable ). It is a nice touch that Laure notices and comments on the patriarchal society (albeit internally - she notices that there aren't many female lecturers etc). Adamo is the gruff but caring father figure. Balfour is the wallflower.
There are basically three surface plots: Balfour is settling into life as a diplomat; Adamo is unhappy about being a lecturer; and Laure and Toverre have been invited into the city as scholarship students to participate in the university. Then
I was dissatisfied by the plot -
I also felt that Laure and Toverre's plots overlapped a lot - I didn't see why we had to have both point-of-views? It didn't really add anything. It was great to read about
I feel that read individually, each scene works. It's just that there is a problem when the book puts it together.
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the scenes, but I do think that this series has a lot of room for improvement in terms of plot and character development. The writing is great, though.
I liked the plot, I guess - basically, Our main characters are Adamo (former Chief Sergeant), Balfour, Laure, and Toverre.
Toverre is Royston version two. His point-of-view chapters are written in a rather elaborate, descriptive manner. He's gay and extremely fashionable. His distinguishing characteristics appear to him being extremely particular about cleanliness (I wondered if it would qualify as OCD). Laure is basically a gorgeous tomboy (though I was really uncomfortable ). It is a nice touch that Laure notices and comments on the patriarchal society (albeit internally - she notices that there aren't many female lecturers etc). Adamo is the gruff but caring father figure. Balfour is the wallflower.
There are basically three surface plots: Balfour is settling into life as a diplomat; Adamo is unhappy about being a lecturer; and Laure and Toverre have been invited into the city as scholarship students to participate in the university. Then
I was dissatisfied by the plot -
I also felt that Laure and Toverre's plots overlapped a lot - I didn't see why we had to have both point-of-views? It didn't really add anything. It was great to read about
I feel that read individually, each scene works. It's just that there is a problem when the book puts it together.
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the scenes, but I do think that this series has a lot of room for improvement in terms of plot and character development. The writing is great, though.
July 8, 2018
Read for Summer Reading Challenge 2018 - June Reads: Take Pride: Read a book written by an LGBTQIA author or that features an LGBTQIA character.
This book features quite a few, what with Royston and Hal returning, albeit as background characters and we are introduced to a new waspish young man, Toverre (wish he would come and clean my house or polish my silver)! If one is looking for romance however this book probably had the least amount and it is rather a side issue to the main mystery.
While the book fizzled towards the ending action, I still enjoyed it as a whole. I wouldn't mind a 5th book to be perfectly honest but it looks as though the authors are happy to leave it where it is.
Once the storylines converged more I found myself unable to put the book down, waiting for the other shoe to drop so everyone could be on the same page. Quite great to have them all in a room together, conspiring.
So, on to the narrators:
Laure definitely grew on me as the book progressed. I wish she didn't have to be quite so crass to drive home the point that she is a tomboy but I get it. It's a great contrast and compliment to her friendship with Toverre and they certainly made an entertaining duo.
Balfour I didn't much care for at first (probably because I couldn't remember him from the earlier books--sorry Balfour, Rook is just so singularly childish that he sticks out more in my memory) but he definitely grew on me once I got a feeling for where the story was headed. Plus is shyness with his hands was somehow quite endearing. I quite liked his portions better when he started reuniting with his former Airmen. (Luvander, you are a delight. I wish I could see the hats).
Adamo.... I liked for the way he just trudged on. He might not like the direction his reluctant investigations are taking him but he goes forward regardless. Also, the mother-hen-ing is adorable. They will always be your boys. As for his romance... I was unsurprised. Not sure I see it as a good fit but that could just be me and my crusty self raising an eyebrow at the April/December relationship again (yes Royston and Hal I am looking at you two from the first book though I guess it provides symmetry to begin and end with a one as the pair are best friends---Royston and Adamo I mean).
As for Toverre, not sure why he ended up last here in my free-flow review but I really did enjoy his parts a lot once I got used to his flights of fancy and got a better handle on the direction his story was taking him. I quite like that he daydreamed, theorized, jumped to conclusions, built up his fantasies and made Laure his (likely unwilling) confidante. Also the fact that he was there when it really counted made him thoroughly likable.
I also wish there had been more dragons but one can't have it all!
This book features quite a few, what with Royston and Hal returning, albeit as background characters and we are introduced to a new waspish young man, Toverre (wish he would come and clean my house or polish my silver)! If one is looking for romance however this book probably had the least amount and it is rather a side issue to the main mystery.
While the book fizzled towards the ending action, I still enjoyed it as a whole. I wouldn't mind a 5th book to be perfectly honest but it looks as though the authors are happy to leave it where it is.
Once the storylines converged more I found myself unable to put the book down, waiting for the other shoe to drop so everyone could be on the same page. Quite great to have them all in a room together, conspiring.
So, on to the narrators:
Laure definitely grew on me as the book progressed. I wish she didn't have to be quite so crass to drive home the point that she is a tomboy but I get it. It's a great contrast and compliment to her friendship with Toverre and they certainly made an entertaining duo.
Balfour I didn't much care for at first (probably because I couldn't remember him from the earlier books--sorry Balfour, Rook is just so singularly childish that he sticks out more in my memory) but he definitely grew on me once I got a feeling for where the story was headed. Plus is shyness with his hands was somehow quite endearing. I quite liked his portions better when he started reuniting with his former Airmen. (Luvander, you are a delight. I wish I could see the hats).
Adamo.... I liked for the way he just trudged on. He might not like the direction his reluctant investigations are taking him but he goes forward regardless. Also, the mother-hen-ing is adorable. They will always be your boys. As for his romance... I was unsurprised. Not sure I see it as a good fit but that could just be me and my crusty self raising an eyebrow at the April/December relationship again (yes Royston and Hal I am looking at you two from the first book though I guess it provides symmetry to begin and end with a one as the pair are best friends---Royston and Adamo I mean).
As for Toverre, not sure why he ended up last here in my free-flow review but I really did enjoy his parts a lot once I got used to his flights of fancy and got a better handle on the direction his story was taking him. I quite like that he daydreamed, theorized, jumped to conclusions, built up his fantasies and made Laure his (likely unwilling) confidante. Also the fact that he was there when it really counted made him thoroughly likable.
I also wish there had been more dragons but one can't have it all!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2023
This is my last review - due to the horrendous layout of the book page, I no longer find Goodreads a useful website. I am sorry that this will be affecting authors as I always like to leave my impressions on their books, especially when I think the book was great, as I think this one is! But Goodreads' forcing their 'mobile' bookpage design onto desktop users is simply lazy and irresponsible on their part. Desktop users have voiced their 'dislike' (that's putting it mildly) of the redesign but have been ignored. Maybe if authors start complaining about it, something might be done, but from what I hear from my author friends, they cannot get support from Goodreads librarians when they see something on their author page or their book is incorrect and needs fixing.
(Just tried to post my review and now I have to deal with a CAPTCHA! Horrible, just - horrible UI)
That said, there is my final review:
Audiobook review. Narrator: Cornell Collins.
Wow, what a great ending to this series (and I really wish this was not the end - there is potential for the story to be continued). I wasn't sure about the introduction of several new characters, but they caught my heart from the very beginning and I fell in love with all of them right away. I had a suspicion as to what might be going on, but was truly surprised when all was revealed. Cornell Collins, as always, did a wonderful job of the voices. I stretched out my listening of the last chapter just to savor the book a little longer, knowing this was the end.
(Just tried to post my review and now I have to deal with a CAPTCHA! Horrible, just - horrible UI)
That said, there is my final review:
Audiobook review. Narrator: Cornell Collins.
Wow, what a great ending to this series (and I really wish this was not the end - there is potential for the story to be continued). I wasn't sure about the introduction of several new characters, but they caught my heart from the very beginning and I fell in love with all of them right away. I had a suspicion as to what might be going on, but was truly surprised when all was revealed. Cornell Collins, as always, did a wonderful job of the voices. I stretched out my listening of the last chapter just to savor the book a little longer, knowing this was the end.
May 15, 2017
This was a really fun and easy read. After Dragon Soul, which bored me to tears, I put off reading this one for quite a while, but naww, this was a lot of fun. Characters who interact and talk! Things that happen! Dragons!
While I agree with some reviewers that the story could've been told better and more effectively with different, or at least additional pov characters (Antoinette?! Anastasia?!), I don't really care that it wasn't, either. I went through this book in a breeze and enjoyed every minute of it. The thing I like about this series is the light-heartedness and lack of pretence of the world they're set in. It doesn't make claims to be deep or important, which means it can absolutely get away with just having fun with flimsy dialogue and dashing and/or adorable characters. And dragons.
While I agree with some reviewers that the story could've been told better and more effectively with different, or at least additional pov characters (Antoinette?! Anastasia?!), I don't really care that it wasn't, either. I went through this book in a breeze and enjoyed every minute of it. The thing I like about this series is the light-heartedness and lack of pretence of the world they're set in. It doesn't make claims to be deep or important, which means it can absolutely get away with just having fun with flimsy dialogue and dashing and/or adorable characters. And dragons.
April 27, 2018
I really enjoyed reading the conclusion of this series. I feel like it came back around quite nicely.
I enjoyed the new characters that we were introduced to, but REALLY enjoyed getting to know some of the older characters better.
The only issue I had was with the random romance that the authors seemed to be forcing into the plot. It seemed wholly unnecessary and completely out of character for both parties involved. I would have really enjoyed the book without it.
Otherwise, this final book in the series was a satisfying ending to the story.
I enjoyed the new characters that we were introduced to, but REALLY enjoyed getting to know some of the older characters better.
The only issue I had was with the random romance that the authors seemed to be forcing into the plot. It seemed wholly unnecessary and completely out of character for both parties involved. I would have really enjoyed the book without it.
Otherwise, this final book in the series was a satisfying ending to the story.
January 27, 2012
Sometimes I really wish Goodreads allowed us to give half-stars. I'd love to give Steelhands a 2.5.
As much as I enjoyed the previous Havemercy books--particularly the first--this one just didn't click as well. Many of the smaller issues that I had with the characters and the writing in previous books seemed somehow amplified in this one, and honestly none of the new characters interested me in the slightest.
Well, and I'm not really a big fan of the way every little detail is explained to readers: why a person said what they said, why they thought what they thought, or did what they did. Everything has to be explained, justified, as though the characters are almost making excuses for every action they take. Started driving me batty after a while. It leaves no room for interpretation; there's no way to read into a characters actions on your own because everything is laid out for you. I'm sure the authors never intended this, but I was constantly getting the feeling that they just assume their readers are too unobservant, are too judgmental, or lack enough understanding to "get" the characters.
All that said, I enjoyed the book well enough. Loved the airmen, as always, though I had a few gripes about Adamo's narration that I won't get into because thisreview rant is already much too long. If you enjoyed the previous books, you will... probably? enjoy this one. But unless Havemercy #5--if there ever is one--gets some seriously stellar recommendations, I doubt I'll be picking it up.
As much as I enjoyed the previous Havemercy books--particularly the first--this one just didn't click as well. Many of the smaller issues that I had with the characters and the writing in previous books seemed somehow amplified in this one, and honestly none of the new characters interested me in the slightest.
Well, and I'm not really a big fan of the way every little detail is explained to readers: why a person said what they said, why they thought what they thought, or did what they did. Everything has to be explained, justified, as though the characters are almost making excuses for every action they take. Started driving me batty after a while. It leaves no room for interpretation; there's no way to read into a characters actions on your own because everything is laid out for you. I'm sure the authors never intended this, but I was constantly getting the feeling that they just assume their readers are too unobservant, are too judgmental, or lack enough understanding to "get" the characters.
All that said, I enjoyed the book well enough. Loved the airmen, as always, though I had a few gripes about Adamo's narration that I won't get into because this
March 5, 2020
Lo abandono porque es denso y actualmente no me da la cabeza para leer en inglés, pero me estaba gustando y lo retomaré
May 25, 2020
Rating: 3.5
July 13, 2023
every mlm ship in these books one is the WOMAN and one is the MAN and even in 2011 thats homophobia
October 10, 2024
Enjoyable story that is well written with likeable characters and good world building. The narration is very good as well.
February 20, 2015
Four and a half stars
I hate starting in the middle of a series. I'm usually pretty compulsive about it - if I haven't read book one, I won't read any of it. But sometimes I will put my name in for something on the LibraryThing Early Reviewers page, wherever the book falls in its series - kind of on the assumption that I'm not going to get it. From the May batch of early reviewers I received Steelhands, by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett - "Havemercy #4". Feeling my duty to get the read and review done before the anticipated release date in August, I squared my shoulders and plunged in.
The two ladies who wrote this should give lessons to all writers, fantasy and otherwise, who write more than one book in the same world. All of them. I don't remember ever reading another book which handled the problem of InfoDump in such a skilful manner: I always knew exactly what I needed to know, when I needed to know it - no less, but also no more, or not much more, so I'm left with the deep need to read the other books. Soon.
The story is told in a revolving first person point of view, moving fluidly from ex–Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps to his old comrade Balfour to (from Goodreads via randomhouse.com) "Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fiancé, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be’s clothes than her bed". That's pretty good. They're terrific characters, and each has his own voice which is identifiable and unique from the others, in small ways and large. I've read reviews of other books which don't like alternating first-person narrations; this is not for them (though I wish they'd give it a try). I do (I've actually started a book using the technique), and I loved this.
Steelhands was beautifully written - original, and wonderfully imagined and thought through. I've read very little steampunk so far, but this is exactly what I hoped for and wanted from the genre. The characters were not necessarily all people I'd want to go out to dinner with (most of them not, I think), but I loved spending page-time with them, and I look forward to meeting many of them again. They were all of them excellent companions on the page.
I've discovered a reason to plunge in in the middle of a series: it's lovely that there are more books in a current series already in existence - I don't have to wait for their publication. My birthday's coming up ...
I hate starting in the middle of a series. I'm usually pretty compulsive about it - if I haven't read book one, I won't read any of it. But sometimes I will put my name in for something on the LibraryThing Early Reviewers page, wherever the book falls in its series - kind of on the assumption that I'm not going to get it. From the May batch of early reviewers I received Steelhands, by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett - "Havemercy #4". Feeling my duty to get the read and review done before the anticipated release date in August, I squared my shoulders and plunged in.
The two ladies who wrote this should give lessons to all writers, fantasy and otherwise, who write more than one book in the same world. All of them. I don't remember ever reading another book which handled the problem of InfoDump in such a skilful manner: I always knew exactly what I needed to know, when I needed to know it - no less, but also no more, or not much more, so I'm left with the deep need to read the other books. Soon.
The story is told in a revolving first person point of view, moving fluidly from ex–Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps to his old comrade Balfour to (from Goodreads via randomhouse.com) "Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fiancé, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be’s clothes than her bed". That's pretty good. They're terrific characters, and each has his own voice which is identifiable and unique from the others, in small ways and large. I've read reviews of other books which don't like alternating first-person narrations; this is not for them (though I wish they'd give it a try). I do (I've actually started a book using the technique), and I loved this.
Steelhands was beautifully written - original, and wonderfully imagined and thought through. I've read very little steampunk so far, but this is exactly what I hoped for and wanted from the genre. The characters were not necessarily all people I'd want to go out to dinner with (most of them not, I think), but I loved spending page-time with them, and I look forward to meeting many of them again. They were all of them excellent companions on the page.
I've discovered a reason to plunge in in the middle of a series: it's lovely that there are more books in a current series already in existence - I don't have to wait for their publication. My birthday's coming up ...
September 24, 2012
Steelhands is a very entertaining read. I've read the three previous books in the series, and I can say that the authors are very good at building characters. The dialogue is very witty, and you come to love the characters through how they interact with each other. I especially loved Toverre: he is truly neurotic and useless, but on the other hand he also displayed great loyalty and affection towards Laurence.
One criticism of the past books, especially Shadow Magic, is the lack of plot; however, in Steelhands, the story is clearly plot-driven, and the suspense keeps you guessing as to what really is going on. The authors reveal hints slowly, and you commiserate with the characters as they pull their hair out trying to figure out the mystery.
I feel that the authors have improved on writing in general, as there weren't many extraneous scenes. As another reviewer had mentioned for a previous book in the series, it felt like the authors had written some scenes just for the sake of entertainment, even if they didn't add to the plot. In the case of Steelhands, I felt that all of the scenes contributed towards the plot, while at the same time being entertaining.
Unfortunately, I felt that the ending fell a bit flat; the resolution was fairly anticlimactic, leaving you saying, that's it? I think the authors still have some ways to go in terms of delivering an strong climax, rather than focusing on just writing interesting scenes.
Another criticism is that the authors had a penchant for turning all of the characters into lovable teddy bears. For example, it didn't seem believable that the Airmen who liked to terrorize/haze new recruits would also bring soup to said recruits when they were sick. The authors seemed to want readers to think that the characters are only hard on the outside, but that inside they were all softies, thus getting the reader to fall in love with them. I don't necessarily disagree with this, but I think the authors should challenge themselves to write characters that readers can love for another reason.
Anyway, I did enjoy this book, and I will continue reading future books in this series.
One criticism of the past books, especially Shadow Magic, is the lack of plot; however, in Steelhands, the story is clearly plot-driven, and the suspense keeps you guessing as to what really is going on. The authors reveal hints slowly, and you commiserate with the characters as they pull their hair out trying to figure out the mystery.
I feel that the authors have improved on writing in general, as there weren't many extraneous scenes. As another reviewer had mentioned for a previous book in the series, it felt like the authors had written some scenes just for the sake of entertainment, even if they didn't add to the plot. In the case of Steelhands, I felt that all of the scenes contributed towards the plot, while at the same time being entertaining.
Unfortunately, I felt that the ending fell a bit flat; the resolution was fairly anticlimactic, leaving you saying, that's it? I think the authors still have some ways to go in terms of delivering an strong climax, rather than focusing on just writing interesting scenes.
Another criticism is that the authors had a penchant for turning all of the characters into lovable teddy bears. For example, it didn't seem believable that the Airmen who liked to terrorize/haze new recruits would also bring soup to said recruits when they were sick. The authors seemed to want readers to think that the characters are only hard on the outside, but that inside they were all softies, thus getting the reader to fall in love with them. I don't necessarily disagree with this, but I think the authors should challenge themselves to write characters that readers can love for another reason.
Anyway, I did enjoy this book, and I will continue reading future books in this series.
July 23, 2014
Steelhands is the fourth book in the series that started with Havemercy and as was the case with the previous, it features four new narrators (only Thom and Rook featured twice as narrators so for now we are at 14) though two are old friends - the former leader of the Dragon Corps sergeant Adamo now professor of strategy at the main Volkhov college - the Versity - and Balfour who has the steelhands of the title - a fusion of magic and technology that replaced the hands he lost in the climax of the war with Ke han in the first volume.
We also see (margrave aka magician) Royston and his live-in boyfriend Hal (the fourth POV of Havemercy in addition to Roy, Thom and Rook, now an assistant professor of magic at the Versity) while as two new pov's there are country youngsters Laure(nce), a tomboyish girl with a boy's name and her "fiance", Toverre, a girlish boy with a crush on Hal, both just coming from the sticks on the Esar's (the leader of Volkhov) new scholarships to bring "new country blood" to the capital
This book takes place mostly in the capital and starts with Adamo receiving Thom's letter informing him about the events in Dragon Soul, and that is something that has huge possible implications, so Adamo starts getting in touch with the survivors of the Dragon Corps, Roy, Hal... to discuss how to deal with the possible issues
Laure and Toverre in the meantime get used to the capital and college life and then things start happening and connecting the two threads.
In this book the storyline was a bit predictable - from half on, I would say it was the most predictable of all 4 books so far - but the POV's more than made for that since they were fresh and very well realized; the strength of this series is there first and foremost since the authors keep creating convincing and *very different* character voices each book and we get to see their world from fresh perspectives which counts a lot for me.
We also see (margrave aka magician) Royston and his live-in boyfriend Hal (the fourth POV of Havemercy in addition to Roy, Thom and Rook, now an assistant professor of magic at the Versity) while as two new pov's there are country youngsters Laure(nce), a tomboyish girl with a boy's name and her "fiance", Toverre, a girlish boy with a crush on Hal, both just coming from the sticks on the Esar's (the leader of Volkhov) new scholarships to bring "new country blood" to the capital
This book takes place mostly in the capital and starts with Adamo receiving Thom's letter informing him about the events in Dragon Soul, and that is something that has huge possible implications, so Adamo starts getting in touch with the survivors of the Dragon Corps, Roy, Hal... to discuss how to deal with the possible issues
Laure and Toverre in the meantime get used to the capital and college life and then things start happening and connecting the two threads.
In this book the storyline was a bit predictable - from half on, I would say it was the most predictable of all 4 books so far - but the POV's more than made for that since they were fresh and very well realized; the strength of this series is there first and foremost since the authors keep creating convincing and *very different* character voices each book and we get to see their world from fresh perspectives which counts a lot for me.
December 31, 2011
Well-plotted YA of the reverberations of war and conspiracy, with a fast-moving chatty tone reminiscent of some first-person urban fantasy, and Steampunk! Dragons! [return]It’s the fourth volume in the Havemercy series, but it works just fine as a stand alone – the authors do a creditable job of weaving in enough back story to understand motivation and some action. [return]The four main characters - Toverre, a gay scholarship student from the country; Laurence, Toverre’s female fiancé and fellow scholarship student; Adamo – a former sergeant and dragon rider now serving as a professor; and Balfour “Steel Hands”, a gentle survivor of the disbanded dragon corps -- are engaging enough, but reveal the first of several severe problems with this work. [return]Ostensibly, the narrative is a rotation of each of the four characters’ point of view. Yet the four voices sound exactly the same. Let me say that again. EXACTLY the same. In my humble opinion (not having published 4 books) the narrative would have been far stronger in an omniscient voice if the authors can’t do a better job of distinguishing the tone of voice. [return]Further, the language is highly repetitive, and the story is full of anachronisms. Mind that I’m quoting an ARC here, but “abruptly the city planning and even the buildings themselves ceased to make any kind of logical sense. They rose up around me like abstract paintings . . .” p 59 or “Roy had about the same amount of good sense as a common house cat, but with less grace to stick the landing.” P 76. [return]Even with these flaws, Steelhands is worth reading, and these young writers have much talent. One looks forward to their growth as authors.
November 8, 2022
My favourite of the series so far along with Havemercy! This one finally takes us back to Thremedon where the story picks up when Balfour receives the letter sent by Thom about his and Rook's latest adventures in Dragon Soul. POV characters in this installment are Balfour and Adamo, two of the surviving members of the Dragon Corps, along with two new additions to the cast: freshly arrived from the country as part of a newly started scholarship programme at the 'Versity, tomboy Laure and her cleanliness-obsessed best friend/fiancé Toverre, who quickly develops a crush on Hal, find themselves in the midst of intrigue, mysteries and former dragonriders. Hal and Royston, whom I had very much been looking forward to reading about again, also have their roles to play in this latest part of the series. As always, the story is fascinating and the distinct character voices keep it moving along at a great pace, making this book extremely hard to put down. I especially loved getting to see a lot of the friendship between Royston and Adamo, my two favourite characters from this series, which had only been mentioned in passing before. Hopefully there'll be more books to come! (Pretty please? ♥)
August 2, 2011
Got this book as a First Reads giveaway.
Like another reviewer mentioned, the contest specified that this was a stand-alone book. It's not; it's the 4th in Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett's 'Havemercy' series. I've intended on reading the series, but I did plan on reading them in order. To anyone who hasn't yet started the series: I HIGHLY recommend reading them in order. It may be too late for me, but not for you!
I have a feeling that I might have given this book 4 stars if I'd read the prior books. Even considering that this is a sequel, it has a particularly slow start. If I already knew and loved the characters, I might have appreciated the updates on what was going on with them. But it took me at least 100 pages to feel even slightly familiar with who everyone was, what the world's situation was, and to feel like any kind of story was happening.
However, after that, I began to get into it. The characters definitely gained my affection, the world was interesting (although still somewhat confusing - it's a sort of Franco-Russian empire which has recently been at war with sort-of China and sort-of Germany?), and steampunk-style dragons are pretty cool. The plot, involving a couple of countrified scholarship students who come to the city to study and become embroiled in a plot involving both the aristocracy and a group of decorated war veterans, is entertaining.
I'd recommend this for fans of books such as Ellen Kushner's 'Riverside' tales.
Like another reviewer mentioned, the contest specified that this was a stand-alone book. It's not; it's the 4th in Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett's 'Havemercy' series. I've intended on reading the series, but I did plan on reading them in order. To anyone who hasn't yet started the series: I HIGHLY recommend reading them in order. It may be too late for me, but not for you!
I have a feeling that I might have given this book 4 stars if I'd read the prior books. Even considering that this is a sequel, it has a particularly slow start. If I already knew and loved the characters, I might have appreciated the updates on what was going on with them. But it took me at least 100 pages to feel even slightly familiar with who everyone was, what the world's situation was, and to feel like any kind of story was happening.
However, after that, I began to get into it. The characters definitely gained my affection, the world was interesting (although still somewhat confusing - it's a sort of Franco-Russian empire which has recently been at war with sort-of China and sort-of Germany?), and steampunk-style dragons are pretty cool. The plot, involving a couple of countrified scholarship students who come to the city to study and become embroiled in a plot involving both the aristocracy and a group of decorated war veterans, is entertaining.
I'd recommend this for fans of books such as Ellen Kushner's 'Riverside' tales.
August 28, 2012
I'm having some mixed feelings about Steelhands. It's definitely amazing book. However, the first half was better than the end. Two of the narrators played minor roles in Havemercy, ex-chief sergant Adamo and ex-airman Balfour shower us with nostalgia. The fresh voices belong to university students Laure and Toverre.
I didn't like Balfour that much in Havemercy and event though he has grown some backbone he isn't too close my favourite characters -list. The moments when he thought times in airman were, however, adorable. Adamo was absolutely fantastic, partly because through him we get to observe lots of Royston and Hal. (I'm missing those two, hopefully we see them again as a narrators in the future.) Laure and Toverre are also great, though I liked especially Laure better at the beginning. Toverre is hilarious with his tidiness obsession and great loves and heartbreaks. (He has a massive crush on Hal and when he sees him with Royston, well...)
The plot was often quite predictable, though there was one massive suprise. (If you have read the book you know what I'm talking about.) And that comment about Raphael and Ivory, awwws. If you ship those two it's gonna make you all fangirly and if not you can easily ignore it. Steelhands is excellent book with some flaws and is worth a strong 4 stars.
I didn't like Balfour that much in Havemercy and event though he has grown some backbone he isn't too close my favourite characters -list. The moments when he thought times in airman were, however, adorable. Adamo was absolutely fantastic, partly because through him we get to observe lots of Royston and Hal. (I'm missing those two, hopefully we see them again as a narrators in the future.) Laure and Toverre are also great, though I liked especially Laure better at the beginning. Toverre is hilarious with his tidiness obsession and great loves and heartbreaks. (He has a massive crush on Hal and when he sees him with Royston, well...)
The plot was often quite predictable, though there was one massive suprise. (If you have read the book you know what I'm talking about.) And that comment about Raphael and Ivory, awwws. If you ship those two it's gonna make you all fangirly and if not you can easily ignore it. Steelhands is excellent book with some flaws and is worth a strong 4 stars.
September 4, 2012
I loved this book. I really like the humor that the authors give to their characters, in this book Adamo and Laure in particular. Each of the characters is so unique and each have their own appeal. The only improvement I would make in this book would be to give more detail on the physical traits of the characters. I like to be able to picture the characters and for me, there just wasn't enough description to allow me to get a picture of each character in my mind.
I think that this might be the last of the books about the men of the Dragon Corps. I somehow feel that there should be at least one more book because I don't feel that closure has been attained for each character. What happened to Rook and Thom? What will Adamo and Laure and the other characters in this book do once they are at the estate and training the new dragons? There were hints that Adamo and Laure would be a couple in the future. But what about everyone else? I loved this book, but want at least one more to give closure.
I think that this might be the last of the books about the men of the Dragon Corps. I somehow feel that there should be at least one more book because I don't feel that closure has been attained for each character. What happened to Rook and Thom? What will Adamo and Laure and the other characters in this book do once they are at the estate and training the new dragons? There were hints that Adamo and Laure would be a couple in the future. But what about everyone else? I loved this book, but want at least one more to give closure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2011
This was a very good book. It had a slow start for me but it was still a very good book. I loved the book. It had a good plot and a wonderful story. I think that it was one of the better books of this type that I have read.
The story is about dragons and the people who rode them. Then the new set of dragons and the people who are claimed by them. To say much more would give away the book and that is never good. IT has a good plot. It kept me interested.
This book was able to entertain me and keep me interested. I love the concept of the book as well. Fantasy books are always fun to read for me. I wish the beginning of the book would have been a little faster paced than it was but other than that, this was a very well written book.
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and enjoyed it immensely. I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy and Science fiction books.
The story is about dragons and the people who rode them. Then the new set of dragons and the people who are claimed by them. To say much more would give away the book and that is never good. IT has a good plot. It kept me interested.
This book was able to entertain me and keep me interested. I love the concept of the book as well. Fantasy books are always fun to read for me. I wish the beginning of the book would have been a little faster paced than it was but other than that, this was a very well written book.
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and enjoyed it immensely. I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy and Science fiction books.
December 13, 2011
I was disappointed in the last two books. Honestly, when I think about it, I loved the 2nd book in this series, Shadow Magic, and have been pretty indifferent to the other three. The characters start to run together, being to a man extra-tough, extra-crispy smart alecks. One such book is fine... but the last two became tedious. Despite the fact that in the 4th book of the series, there was finally a female main character. An extra-tough, extra-crispy smart aleck female character *yawn*.
I'm not sure how Shadow Magic managed to stand out so strongly -- there was one character which was exactly true to form of all the aforementioned crispies, but other than that, the other three were just magically delicious. Ah, well.
I probably wouldn't continue reading this series, should a 5th be published.
I'm not sure how Shadow Magic managed to stand out so strongly -- there was one character which was exactly true to form of all the aforementioned crispies, but other than that, the other three were just magically delicious. Ah, well.
I probably wouldn't continue reading this series, should a 5th be published.
October 29, 2012
I love-love-loved the first book in this series (except for the first two scenes, which were a bit overdone), and in my opinion, the books since have aspired to that level of yumminess but haven't quite matched it.
This book is another mild disappointment. The issue, for me, is that while the writing is (as usual) great and the voice of the characters very enjoyable and believable, the story itself is a bit weak and oftentimes plodding. Those are the same issues I had with the second and third books, too.
I think I'm going to have to down-grade this series to "library" good, i.e. I'll keep reading it, in hope that something as good as Havemercy turns up, but I won't necessarily pay to read the books.
However, all that said, the character voices in this series really are vivid and endearing, so if you're not an impatient reader (like I am), then you may really love this book!
This book is another mild disappointment. The issue, for me, is that while the writing is (as usual) great and the voice of the characters very enjoyable and believable, the story itself is a bit weak and oftentimes plodding. Those are the same issues I had with the second and third books, too.
I think I'm going to have to down-grade this series to "library" good, i.e. I'll keep reading it, in hope that something as good as Havemercy turns up, but I won't necessarily pay to read the books.
However, all that said, the character voices in this series really are vivid and endearing, so if you're not an impatient reader (like I am), then you may really love this book!
December 23, 2012
Won this book on first reads...
I'll be honest, I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I thought it was a bit boring and more importantly I was very confused. Because it's fantasy there were weird names used for people, places, items, etc. It was to the point that I couldn't tell if the name was for a person or place. The only reason I didn't give this one star was because I haven't read the previous books and can't totally blame them if I was confused. I had no idea this book was the 4th in a series. On the giveaway page it said it was a stand-alone novel, but I was still totally lost...
I'll review this later if I ever get around to reading the other books in the series. Maybe things will make more sense then :/
I'll be honest, I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I thought it was a bit boring and more importantly I was very confused. Because it's fantasy there were weird names used for people, places, items, etc. It was to the point that I couldn't tell if the name was for a person or place. The only reason I didn't give this one star was because I haven't read the previous books and can't totally blame them if I was confused. I had no idea this book was the 4th in a series. On the giveaway page it said it was a stand-alone novel, but I was still totally lost...
I'll review this later if I ever get around to reading the other books in the series. Maybe things will make more sense then :/
December 29, 2011
I keep reading these books out of the feeling of needed to support internet writers. Oh, and metal dragons.
I would have to say that this might be the best the the current four book series plots wise, but the ending was still predictable and straight forward. There were so many possibilities for complications! And there were a fair bit of characters who I wish could have been shown off a bit more who seemed interesting than the four main narrators.
Narrators wise, these main have been the more simplistic ones out of the series. Previously I always had a character whose chapters I looked forward to reading over the other 3 but this time around the voices weren't as distinctive so none of them really stood out in my mind.
I would have to say that this might be the best the the current four book series plots wise, but the ending was still predictable and straight forward. There were so many possibilities for complications! And there were a fair bit of characters who I wish could have been shown off a bit more who seemed interesting than the four main narrators.
Narrators wise, these main have been the more simplistic ones out of the series. Previously I always had a character whose chapters I looked forward to reading over the other 3 but this time around the voices weren't as distinctive so none of them really stood out in my mind.
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